Just Breathe
by LemonStar
Summary: ..Marcus/Hermione.. His scowl deepened. "This isn't a laughing matter, Hermione. I just shagged you pretty hard if you've forgotten already and you're… pregnant. That can't be safe for the baby." The baby. He probably would never get used to that.


**Just Breathe** by Lemonstar

_..Marcus/Hermione.. His scowl deepened. "This isn't a laughing matter, Hermione. I just shagged you pretty hard if you've forgotten already and you're… pregnant. That can't be safe for the baby." The baby. He probably would never get used to that. _

..XX..

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**To** say that he was shocked would be a gross understatement.

She laid underneath him on his bed, her body sweaty and glowing from their love-making and there was a hint of a smile across her lips after she had said the words to him. Two words. Two words that changed everything and in less than a second, the world had spun itself upside down and nothing to him was as it had been just a moment earlier.

Hermione Granger knew him well enough already to know that he was completely incapable of speaking. Her words had wiped all knowledge of the English language from his mind and she simply looked up at him and squeezed her fingers gently around his arms as he remained propped up above her. She didn't ask what he was thinking or feeling. Even if he wasn't sure of those things and probably wouldn't be for quite some time.

She lifted her head from off the pillow and kissing him lightly on the lips though he couldn't even feel it, she sat up slightly, forcing his body to roll off of hers. He laid next to her on his back, staring up at the ceiling and she leaned over to place a soft kiss on his cheek.

"I'm going to go back to my place tonight," she told him softly.

That seeped into his ears though and he turned his head, looking at her and frowning. He snaked his arm around her waist, hauling her body somewhat on top of his. "Why?"

"Because you need to be alone and… think some things through," she smiled faintly, her hand touching his cheek. "Should I have told you?" She asked, almost whispering, the smile fading.

Marcus smirked. "Don't you think I would have noticed eventually?"

"I meant… should I have waited?" Hermione asked, worry in her eyes. "You aren't exactly in the clearest of minds at the moment."

"I'm not drunk anymore. Trust me," he said, squeezing his arm around her, feeling her naked body pressed against his. That had to be one of the best feelings in the world. He turned his head and looked back up at the ceiling. "How far along are you? When did you find out?"

"I found out last week. I was late and… well, the throwing up every morning was a big indicator," Hermione spoke softly, placing a hand on his chest and then resting her chin on top of it, looking at him carefully, closely, waiting for some reaction other than blatant shock.

He frowned. "How did I miss you throwing up every morning?"

"It usually hits me after you have already left for work," she answered with a shrug.

He was quiet for a moment, his eyes focused on the ceiling above him as if everything would begin to make sense the more he stared.

Pregnant. Hermione was pregnant. He knew that they would have kids someday. They had talked about it often but they had never planned on having a child this early on in their relationship. They had only been together, officially, since December and they weren't even married yet. Marcus supposed he was old fashion in that sense but he imagined getting Hermione pregnant _after_ the wedding.

They were going to have a baby. A baby was growing inside of Hermione right at that very moment and they… oh, shite.

"Did I hurt you?" He asked, sitting up, slightly panicked.

Her face took on confusion and she frowned, laying on her back, looking up at him. Her eyebrows crinkled together whenever she was lost with the conversation. "Hurt me? When?"

"Just now," he said, almost frantically. "Right now, when I… oh god. You don't think I poked it, do you?"

Hermione was quiet for a moment and then unable to help herself, she burst out laughing, covering her mouth with one hand as she reached up and touched his cheek with the other.

His scowl deepened. "This isn't a laughing matter, Hermione. I just shagged you pretty hard if you've forgotten already and you're… pregnant. That can't be safe for the baby."

Marcus swallowed the lump in his throat. The baby. He wondered if he would _ever_ get used to saying those words because at the moment, it seemed as if more foreign words had ever been spoken by him. The baby. _Their _baby. They were having a baby. No, he was never going to get used to that.

Hermione tried composing herself but she couldn't seem to help herself. More laughter bubbled to the surface before she could stop it. His expression – a mixture of annoyance and still shock. She sat up, slipping her arms around his shoulders, and Marcus felt her smiling against his lips as she kissed him. Before he could respond however, she pulled her head back, looking into his eyes.

"No, you didn't hurt me and you certainly didn't hurt the baby," she said, a faint smile still across her lips. "It's perfectly normal, and healthy, to have sex during pregnancy." She spoke matter-of-factly and Marcus wondered how many books she had already read on pregnancy since she had found out.

"How could me shagging your brains out be healthy for the baby?" He asked, his hands skirting up her thighs, feeling her naked, smooth skin under his rough fingertips. He loved touching Hermione and no matter how in shock he was, he couldn't stop himself.

Hermione smiled. "How could you shagging my brains _not_ be healthy?" She teased and he allowed himself to smirk slightly though he couldn't help but keep worrying about how hard and rough he had just been with her. Her lips brushed over his again as if she was reading his thoughts. "My hormones are going to be changing soon…" she kissed his cheek. "And I need you to be ready."

"Ready?" He asked, her lips brushing against his ear and she nodded.

"Apparently, pregnant women can get very…" she paused. "Randy."

"You're kidding," he said, not knowing the first thing about pregnant women. No one he had ever known had ever been pregnant.

She laughed slightly. "Never about that," she tunneled her fingers through his hair and then laced them behind his neck, pushing his forehead against hers. "It's supposed to help make me feel more comfortable and when I get to be close, it can even help induce labor."

He shook his head slightly. "I can't believe we're talking about this."

The brightness on her face disappeared instantly and Marcus mentally delivered a swift kick to his arse for how his words must have sounded to her.

"I know we didn't exactly plan on this happening right now but… it's not like we've never talked about it before, Marcus," she said quietly, staring into his eyes.

"I know," he sighed. "But talking about it is completely different than actually having to go through with all of this." He took another deep breath and laid down again on his back, feeling her watching him. "I do not want to be like my father. What if I turn out to be just like him with our kid?"

Hermione stared at him for a moment. "How can you even think that you'll be like him? Marcus, your father is a horrible man. And you're not. He wanted you to marry a pureblood you didn't even love and you didn't. You proved right there that you are nothing like him."

He didn't answer or even acknowledge that he had heard her. His eyes were set once again on the ceiling and he seemed as if he was a thousand miles away. He didn't even respond when she slowly climbed off of the bed.

Marcus had finally figured out what had been bothering him so much. Michael Flint had been a less than ideal parent to grow up with and since the death of his mother, his father was the only adult in his life for Marcus to look up to so to speak. He was a cruel, calculating man who only cared about business and money and other Purebloods. When Marcus had informed him of his intentions in regards to Hermione, Michael didn't even hesitate in cutting Marcus completely out of the family.

Growing up, Marcus had feared him while at the same time, had also been determined to please him. He needed to have Michael's approval almost desperately but he had never been able to earn it. No matter what Marcus did, it was never good enough. He wasn't smart enough, a good enough athlete – though he had had the opportunity to play Quidditch professionally after school – and in Michael's opinion, his one and only son, his heir, had been an embarrassment to the Flint name in every aspect of life.

Marcus hated his father. He always had, even as a boy trying to please him. He had despised him and loved him all at the same time.

He couldn't possibly be a father. Look at the shining example he had had growing up. He didn't know how to raise a baby. With his luck, he would turn exactly into the kind of father his own had been and his and Hermione's child would grow to hate him. He would never be able to live with himself. What if he messed the child up for life and had lasting damage like Marcus had had?

He felt sick to his stomach but he knew it wasn't from the amount of fire whiskey he had consumed earlier that evening.

_I'm pregnant. _

Hermione was happy. He could tell that she was. Nervous, anxious, but most of all, happy. She wanted a baby. She wanted to be a mother and have a family and for some reason – reasons that Marcus still didn't entirely understand – she wanted all of those things with him.

He heard the shower turn on in the bathroom and Marcus closed his eyes, imagining Hermione standing underneath the sprays of water, washing herself, her hands rubbing her body, soap trailing down her naked skin. Marcus felt himself start to grow hard again just at the imagery provoked in his head.

Hermione's eyes were closed as she got her hair wet under the water but she could feel Marcus enter the bathroom and then she heard him push back the shower curtain enough for him to step inside. She smiled faintly as his arms wound around her waist and his lips dipped down, pressing to her throat. Keeping her eyes closed, she wrapped her arms around his broad muscular shoulders and arched against him.

"I could never love a man like your father," she whispered in his ear and she felt him squeeze his arms around her. "But I love you more than anything so that should show you how you are _nothing_ like him."

Marcus hugged her, not saying in response. They stood under the hot torrents of water streaming from the shower head, getting soaked, holding one another.

"You're going to be a fantastic father, Marcus," she said and he finally pulled his head back to look down at her.

She smiled faintly and he felt his heart pound in his chest. Her unwaveringly belief in him and her endless love for him still scared the shite of him and he knew that he would never understand why he was the one worthy of being with Hermione Granger but he supposed he was a selfish bugger. He _needed_ her. Desperately. Her love for him. Her faith in him. Her trust and desire. All for him. Marcus didn't know how he had gotten along without it in his life before her. Now that he had it thought, he didn't ever want to lose any of it. He wouldn't be able to survive without her.

Without Hermione Granger, there would be no Marcus Flint.

Hermione watched, biting down on her lower lip, smiling, as Marcus dropped to his knees in front of her, his arms still wrapped around her waist, and then pressed his lips to her still flat abdomen. She slowly combed her fingers through his soaked hair and he kissed her there over and over again before turning his head and resting it there, closing his eyes.

..XX..

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A/N: So I think it's safe to say that I am absolutely addicted to these Marcus/Hermione one-shots I keep writing. And thank you to those who read and review. I am glad there are people out there who seem to be enjoying these. What did you all think of this one?


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